I'm not sure if anyone else has this problem, but I've been burning Christmas CDs for the holidays, and I can't seem to find out how to eject a blank CD. When I insert it into the computer, it doesn't read it at all. It doesn't appear on the right like other used CDs do. The only way I can eject it is it I open Burn, and then only I get the option to eject. I've even tried doing command+E to eject, it doesn't work either. Help, is there something wrong? I've also already set my System Preferences. CDs & DVDs, for it to ask what to do when inserted a blank CD or DVD. But that doesn't work..

If Burn is letting you eject the media, then this situation is a little confusing, because it means it's physically being detected, but Finder isn't registering it...

Yeah, the finder doesn't have it. You mean it's supposed to have it on Finder?
Sorry, I'm a new Mac user. That's a force eject? Holding the mouse button while restarting the computer? You mean I have to click restart from the apple sign on the top left corner, and hold the mouse button?

Yeah, the finder doesn't have it. You mean it's supposed to have it on Finder?
Sorry, I'm a new Mac user. That's a force eject? Holding the mouse button while restarting the computer? You mean I have to click restart from the apple sign on the top left corner, and hold the mouse button?

Any media (usb stick, CD etc) that you put in your computer should show up in Finder.

To force eject; click restart, wait for it to shut down, and hold down the mouse button until the disc comes out of the drive.

You hold the mouse button down as the computer is booting up, not as it is shutting down. Nevertheless, this shouldn't really be necessary unless something is going wrong. If you open Disk Utility in the Utilities folder, does it recognise the blank disc?

You hold the mouse button down as the computer is booting up, not as it is shutting down. Nevertheless, this shouldn't really be necessary unless something is going wrong. If you open Disk Utility in the Utilities folder, does it recognise the blank disc?

Yes it does. I can eject it from there. But there must be another way to eject it right?

Strange... That means your system is recognising it but Finder and the Eject key are not. Do you have anything else mounted at the same time? Do commercial CDs mount normally and eject via the Eject key?

What sort of Mac do you have? Maybe create a new user account in System Preferences to see if the same issue occurs there. If it does, then we can almost be sure it's a corrupt setting in your current Home folder.

What sort of Mac do you have? Maybe create a new user account in System Preferences to see if the same issue occurs there. If it does, then we can almost be sure it's a corrupt setting in your current Home folder.

It's the same in other user accounts.
But now the problem has changed. I was inserting blank disc after blank disc since the problem occured, and suddenly after inserting a different brand of disc, it suddenly read the disc. It didn't come out under Devices though. Is it supposed to? It came out under Places instead. And it didn't have an eject button beside it. It had a radiation sign, and when I click it it says 'Are you sure you want to create a blank disc?', and then options are to eject, cancel or burn. the Eject works. And If I use command+E, the same thing happens, 'Are you sure you want to create a blank disc?'
The same goes for other brands of disc now. I've switched back to the original one I was trying with (imation) and it's the same now too.

A good tip on how to eject any disc that is stuck is to launch iTunes and click on the eject symbol in the lower right of the pane.

Works every time.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.
Does yours work okay? I mean does it show the blank disc in finder, under Places with a radiation sign next to it and if you click it, it says 'Are you sure you want to create this disc?' (continue button), options to 'eject', 'cancel', or 'burn'. Is that normal?
If so, do you have any idea why there was a problem in the first place and why it's suddenly cured itself? I'm very curious about this...

Strange... That means your system is recognising it but Finder and the Eject key are not.

Blank CDs never show up in the Finder. That's why there's no item to right-click onto and choose Eject.
Regarding the Eject key, since I've upgraded to Leopard, the F12 on my PC keyboard, which worked just as it should in Tiger, doesn't eject anything anymore (only brings up the Dashboard).
I'm pissed, but I can still choose eject on the CD's icon. When I have to eject a bank CD, it's another story...